At least eight trekkers died after Nepal lodge owner at Thorung La Pass
promised to lead them to safety in return for cash, but abandoned them to
their fate mid-route, according to survivors

Survivors of the violent snow storms which killed more than 30 trekkers in Nepal's Himalayan mountains said several of their friends were marched to their deaths by an unscrupulous lodge owner who promised he would lead them to safety if they paid him £1,200.

But after taking their money and sharing it with one of their own porters he abandoned them to their fate mid-route. Six died in furious snow storms, avalanches, high freezing winds and almost complete darkness.

Eitan Edan, a 31-year-old Israeli social worker, said four of his friends were among at least eight people who died during their descent.

Details of their ordeal emerged on Friday as officials announced more than 282 had now been rescued, including an identified British trekker. Officials believe several British trekkers were caught in the storm but only two have been confirmed as survivors so far. British officials said they believe others are probably in remote areas without mobile phone signals.

Eitan Edan said he had been was trekking with a group of around 100, mainly Israelis and Poles, on Nepal's popular Annapurna circuit route towards the Thorung La Pass when the the tail end of cyclone Hudhud descended on them and plunged them into darkness.

They thought they had reached a safe haven when they arrived at a tea house on the 17,769ft pass, but it was packed with fellow trekkers taking shelter and the owner suddenly announced everyone must leave because he was locking up.

When several of the trekkers said the conditions were too dangerous, the tea house owner said they would die if they did not leave soon but he would lead them to safety if they paid him $2,000 (£1,200).

"At 2 or 3 in the afternoon, the owner said 'I'm going to lock up the house, everyone has to leave. I know the way up here. It was dangerous because it was 5,400 metres, not a lot of oxygen. He said I will show you the safe way but only if you give me 1,000 rupees (£6.30) each. I know the way out and I'll take everyone", Mr Edan told the Telegraph in a Kathmandu hospital today where he is being treated for extreme frostbite.

Some of the trekkers haggled and said they would pay half upfront and the balance when they reached the safety of Muktinath lower down the mountain where rescue teams were waiting.

He led the group along with one of their original porters, Pasang Tamang, a 45 year old father-of-two who was hailed for his devotion after he died while saving others on the descent.

But according to the Israeli survivors, he had made a deal with the tea shop owner to share the trekkers' escape payments. He died of suffocation and exhaustion in the snow during the descent.

According to his employer Laxman Ghimire of the Swissa Trekking Agency, 22,500 Nepali rupees (£141) and $100 was recovered from his body which he had earned on his previous trek.

"He could be alive. He rescued two Israeli girls and in the course of rescuing others, he lost his life....some people offered him money to rescue them but he died before he could get the money.

"Usually [porters] are poor and need money. He wanted to save other people and he wanted to make money...if he was not helping other people he would be alive. He was exhausted.

"People saw him under the snow. He told them 'I'm going to die like this'", Mr Ghimire said.

Mr Tamang was paid $15 or £9 per day - less than a pound an hour.

According to a local newspaper some survivors said he had saved their lives and at least 18 others. But according to Israeli survivors at a Kathmandu hospital today, he was struggling to continue walking himself for most of the trek and was weighed down by a heavy bag.

At one point on their descent, they saw an Indian woman screaming for help but the tea shop owner said her foot "had gone" and that "she's finished".

"We carried on down. We stopped and the tea shop owner did not know the way. He told us to turn left and climb. We went on, looked for him and he was gone", Eitan Edan claimed.

By now, the group had dwindled to between 30 and 40 but at 11pm, after nine hours' walking, he collapsed in the snow and could not walk any further. He thought he was going to die, he said.

"I was exhausted and had no more power. The wind was still high. I said to my friend 'you have strength, you go on, I'm going to die'. Four of my friends died. They were in their 20s and 30s", he said.

After sleeping under a blanket in the snow for three hours and eating a Marathon bar, he found some energy and started walking down to safety at Muktinath.

Despite his own survival, he said he was angry at the loss of his friends and said their lives had been put in jeopardy so the tea shop owner and their porter could make money.

"They let us think we had to walk if we wanted to stay alive but everyone who stayed in the tea house is alive. Three Polish guys died [too]," he said.

"It was half Pasang and half the tea shop owner. I saw Pasang struggle to continue and in the end he died.

"Pasang's friends are trying to make him a hero. But they did not want to go until they got the money from everyone, for an hour, they didn't check on safety, no-on cared about it.

"Their main focus was the money and Tamang and the tea shop owner were collaborating."